The article deals with an unknown chapter of the history of Muslims in the Netherlands in the interwar period. It follows the public debate about the construction of the first mosque in The Hague before the Second World War. The first initiative was made in 1929 by the Dutch convert to Islam Mohammed Ali van Beetem, who played a leading role among the Indonesian Muslim community in the Netherlands. After more than two decennia of debate and negotiations with the municipal authorities in The Hague, the first mosque was finally built by the Ahmadiyya-mission in 1955.

Religion-related stress is the product of a predominantly secular society in which people are confronted with diverse religious practices. The phenomenon occurs where public meets private. How can employers ensure compliance with conflicting religious and other commitments in the workplace? The concept of respectful pluralism as formulated by Douglas Hicks in his book Religion and the Workplace, may go a long way to negotiating a solution to the debate between conformity and diversity.

This is the second part of an analysis of the use of the qualification of the state as ‘neutral and impartial organiser of religions’ by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the first part of which appeared in the previous issue of this Journal. This part sets off with a discussion of the use of the qualification of the state as ‘neutral and impartial organiser of religions’ in cases concerning the place of religion in education. Subsequently, a variety of cases is dealt with that challenge restrictions on religious liberty set by the state or restrictions by third parties tolerated by the state. Finally, this contribution offers an overarching reflection on the use by the ECtHR of the qualification of the state as ‘neutral and impartial organiser of religions’ in its case law. It concludes that this qualification, which has no explicit treaty basis, is an inadequate standard for use at the international level and that the ECtHR itself is hardly ‘neutral’ in its application of the standard.

This article explores the themes of injustice and dehumanization in Aeschylus’ Oresteia and Yael Farber’s Molora, in which the story of the Oresteia is dramatized against the backdrop of post-apartheid South Africa. It is argued that both plays depict wrongdoers and victims alike as social outcasts. Thus, they can both be described with Paul Ricoeur as ‘sketches of a man,’ not being able to live up to their full human potential. Borrowing from Ricoeur’s legal philosophy, it is then explained how public trials and hearings help them to reintegrate into society, in which they can regain their full humanity.

The Research Programme Police and Science was launched in 1999 with a mission to contribute towards the development of scientific knowledge with respect to the organisation and performance of the police and to promote the actual application of relevant new knowledge and understanding of police and safety practice. In this article we explore the challenging balance between those two worlds of researchers and practitioners. Scientific research can contribute to new methods or instruments in police forces and new training programmes. Based on former experience the conditions are defined that are necessary for a professional en productive relationship.

Following the evaluation regarding the judicial error in the Schiedam park murder (‘Schiedammer parkmoord’), the Public Prosecutor, Police and the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) have drawn up an enhancement program to prevent future errors. Part of this program is to fill 20% of the posts within the police investigation process with those who have completed a higher education study of ‘criminal investigation’ and have obtained the Master of Criminal Investigation (MCI) title. One of the MCI’s tasks is to act as counterparties within the investigation research, to reduce the tunnel vision that develops within these investigations. In this way, more attention can be paid to alternative scenarios, so that judicial errors are less likely to occur.

Since 2001 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regularly applies the normative characterization of the state as a ‘neutral and impartial organiser of religions’ in its cases. This qualification has no explicit basis in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Where does it come from, how does the ECtHR understand this, in which type of cases does the ECtHR use it and with which result? This essay analyses the use of this qualification by the ECtHR and aims to provide an answer to these questions. It asserts that the qualification of the state as ‘neutral and impartial organiser of religions’ is an inadequate standard and examines wether it may harbor other normative dimensions that are important in the relation between state and religion. After introducing the first case in which the ECtHR used this qualification, the first part deals with cases concerning conflicts within and between churches, equal treatment of religious groups in multi-tiered church and state systems, and pupils in public schools wearing religious garb. The second part will appear in the next issue of this Journal and continues with an analysis of cases concerning the place of religion in education, and various alleged interferences of religious liberty. It concludes with a reflection on the use by the ECtHR of the qualification of the state as ‘neutral and impartial organizer of religious’.

Zogeheten ‘nieuwe toezichthouders’ in de vorm van buitengewoon opsporingsambtenaren (boa’s) en particuliere beveiligers moeten in Amsterdamse en Rotterdamse trams service verlenen en huisregels handhaven. Bij overtreding van deze huisregels kunnen zij in het uiterste geval een openbaarvervoerverbod (ov-verbod) aan reizigers opleggen. Onderhavige studie laat zien welke haken en ogen daar in de praktijk aan zitten.

The author analyses and compares several distinct models of doing justice to find out which is serving ‘sustainable justice’ the best. Sustainable justice could be defined as justice that produces conflict resolutions that last for a long time and in this way contribute to a more sustainable society. Modern developmental methods for organisations make use of assessments to measure, compare and improve the effectiveness of organizational cultures. These methods are used in this contribution to analyse the organizational cultures of mediation, the traditional accusatorial (penal) procedure, problem-solving courts (with a focus on drug courts) and restorative justice conferencing. The comparison results in conclusions indicating that mediation and problem solving courts have a sound and effective organizational culture, due to healthy conflict management styles, characterized by managing both opposition and competition constructively and by a stimulating person-oriented focus. Restorative justice conferences bring together many stakeholders in a conflict and its resolution and facilitates in this way the awareness of the connections between many problems behind the actual conflict at hand: for this reason the resolutions may have a deeper societal impact and a greater sustainability.

In zijn klassieke essay Politiek als beroep uit 1919 geeft de socioloog Max Weber een analyse van het beroep en de roeping van de politicus, die nog steeds actueel is. Hij laat zien hoe de legitimatie van bureaucratie en politieke leiding uiteenloopt en wat voor problemen dit voor de sturende politici oplevert. De ontwikkelingen in de bureaucratie na Weber hebben de sturingsproblemen van de politicus nog versterkt. Wellicht kan het idealistische profiel van de reflectieve machtspoliticus dat Weber schetst, toch houvast geven bij het leidinggeven aan de bureaucratie.

The central question of this article is whether biographies can be a source for criminological research on white-collar crime and how they can contribute to the explanation of white-collar crime. To answer this question, 35 Dutch biographies were studied. Following the legal ambiguities of white-collar crime, not all of these biographies are about criminal offences. And following the dominant anthropomorphic approach to corporate crime, some of these are corporate biographies. Many biographies confirm current criminological explanations of the causation of white-collar crime. Yet, biographies also offer additional insights, for instance about the causal relevance of the private life of white-collar offenders.

Academic and professional disciplines, such as organization and management theory, psychology, sociology and engineering, have, for years, grappled with the multidisciplinary issues of safety and accident prevention. This article examines a domain of research on system safety – the high reliability organization (HRO) paradigm. HROs operate in hazardous conditions, but have fewer than their fair share of adverse events. HROs, traditionally found in the domain of aviation and aircraft carriers, are committed to safety at the highest level and adept a special approach to its pursuit. The attributes and operating dynamics of the best HROs provide a template on which to better understand how safe and reliable performance can be achieved under trying conditions.

The relationship between group workers and their pupils in a youth prison influences treatment outcome. A positive relationship stimulates treatment motivation and readiness for change. The aim of this study was to review the role of hope in a correctional institutional setting for youth. Hope is defined as having a goal and a positive outcome expectation. Hope keeps group workers positive, motivated and inspired to overcome difficulties, and the hope of group workers stimulates pupils to openly reflect on the past, reconsider future possibilities, and become motivated to change their behaviour. There are obstacles, however, which hamper the hope of group workers and may instead trigger negative expectations, cynicism, and despair. Key elements for dealing with potential negative influences on a hopeful orientation are leadership and training. Also conscious reflection on one’s acts, thoughts and feelings can help group workers to deal with resistance reactions and aggression, and to remain hopeful.

This article deals with possibilities for the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Netherlands to learn from high reliability organizations (HROs). The authors draw a picture on the basis of information, gathered between 2008 and 2010. While dealing with mistakes or faults much emphasis is often laid upon a professional attitude, written handbooks and discipline as essential conditions. The experience with HROs shows that at the same time mental processes are needed for fast detection and containment of developing problems. These mental processes, heaped together as ‘collective mindfulness’, refer to the picking up of weak signals and the resilient reacting upon incidents. The authors show to what extent the Public Prosecutor’s Office makes use of these processes. The level of training and education and the ‘hands on’ mentality of the average Public Prosecutor build a firm foundation for reliability. Reflection and to what extent knowledge is shared seem liable for improvement. Adapting (elements of) the HRO philosophy may prove an effective way to foster the actual exchange and use of knowledge within the Public Prosecutor’s Office and thus raise its reliability.

The authors endeavour to provide new insights on the continuing Dutch debate on ‘immigration’, ‘integration’, and the assumed clash between Islam and Dutch norms, values, and culture. The late Lebanese ayatollah Fadlallah (1935-2010) specifically addressed the Dutch situation in 2005-2010. The article is based on interviews with him, his Dutch followers, and literary sources. It demonstrates that Fadlallah and his followers hold liberal views on contentious issues such as women’s rights, veiling, integration, and condemn violence and terrorism as exemplified by 9/11. On these grounds, the authors question the supposed incompatibility between Islam and integration, arguing that the precepts of practice cast doubt on the validity of such a contention.

This paper deals with the question of how a partly privatized security sector could be regulated. A central aim of this regulation should be the control of security as a public good. Three models of regulation are analyzed. The current practice of this regulation in the Netherlands shows a serious lack of effectiveness. One of our main conclusions is that neither the state nor the private sector is able to enforce this regulation on their own. However, it is assumed that the state should have a central and integrated regulatory role in this field, with more attention paid to the practical implementation of it, with the power and will to sanction private agencies if necessary. In addition managers of private security companies should adopt a role as public managers with a public moral duty. Regulation of security is faced with a double problematic, not only the horizontal fragmentation of the field, but also the vertical fragmentation, often resulting in a serious gap between managers and those in the field, both in the public and the private sector. This implies that the regulation should not only rest on the state and on self-regulation by the sector at management level, but also on the promotion of a practical ethic for security workers to steer and regulate their daily work.